New tribal police chief hits the ground running

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Lapwai, ID - The chief of a local law enforcement agency has only been in the position for a month, however he's already bringing the agency to the next level.

Nez Perce Tribal Police Chief Dave Rogers left his job at the National Criminal Justice Training Center in Wisconsin, moved back to the area, and hit the ground running as police chief. He has 39 years of criminal justice experience with both tribal and non-tribal agencies and he's using it to move his agency forward. He’s focused on building a solid relationship with surrounding police agencies and increasing the size of his staff.

"Right now we're about four short of that and we have made an officer to two individual for lateral entry and I would like to see about hiring two more so we can approach that 21 number," said Rogers.

Rogers is putting together a report about his observations, and he'll present it in front of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee next month. He’ll request two more officers so they can provide better coverage to areas such as Kamiah. The chief said that he works with an excellent core group, all of whom want forward progress as well.